Golden Nuggets from
Really Old Books:
The Hardening of Pharaoh’s Heart
But
the LORD hardened Pharaoh's heart, and he would not let them go. (Exodus
10:27; King James Version)
In a number of places within
Scripture God is said to harden people’s hearts and then punish them for having
committed those sins that comes as a result of such hardening. Some men,
especially those of the Calvinist persuasion, claim that God does this efficaciously (the belief that God sovereignly and supernaturally produced
the hardness in Pharaoh’s heart. It is the false idea that Pharaoh had no
ability to resist God’s hardening).
Bible passages of this nature lead some
people to believe that God controls all events, to include the sinful acts of
men, for mysterious divine purposes. Only recently I have discovered that there
is another group of people who profess Christianity but deny the divine
inspiration and/or infallibility of God’s Word because of passages of this
nature.
As a resolution to both erroneous
extremes stated above, I and many others over the years have suggested that
this “hardening” was permissive
rather than causative. What we mean
is that there is a principle in the Bible in which God is said to do that which
He merely allows, permits or does not prevent from occurring. There are some
Bible translations that recognize this truth and have interpreted the
Scriptures to reflect it. For example, here are two Bible translations of our
opening passage:
And
Yahweh let the heart of Pharaoh wax
bold, - and he was not willing to let them go. (The Emphasized Bible by J.
B. Rotherham)
But
JEHOVAH permitted Pharaoh’s heart to
be hardened, so that he would not send them away. (A Translation of the Old
Testament Scriptures from the Original Hebrew By Helen Spurrell)
Just recently I found another
translation by a Jewish Rabbi, Dr. A. Benisch published in 1852. Here is how he
renders the passage:
But
the Eternal allowed Pharaoh's Heart
to be hardened, and he would not let them go (Ex. 10:27; Jewish School
& Family Bible, Volume I by Dr. A. Benisch)
It would appear that interpreting
God’s role of hardening in a permissive rather than in a causative sense is
nothing new or novel. However, those who desire to maintain a view of God’s
sovereignty that make Him the author and distributor of evil strongly and vehemently
oppose this view. Those who believe that God is good but that the passages
above do not reflect this truth, thus, believing that the Bible is uninspired
and full of contradiction, also argue against understanding the Bible in this
sense.
While there is nothing we can do to
change the perspective of those who have closed their ears to our proofs, we
can continue to present evidence to encourage those who know that God is good
in every sense of the Word, who believe that the Bible is the inspired,
infallible, and inerrant Word of God, but often struggle with how it depicts
God in several places as one who hardens hearts, sends evil and lying spirits,
inflicts sickness and disease, and other acts that fail to demonstrate the
natural understanding of a benevolent deity.
Citing from some really old books helps us in this faith
building endeavor. Most men of those times, unlike our superficial single
focused theologians of today, took time to investigate these Biblical issues
and found that God can indeed be vindicated upon the established truth that the
Bible is only stating a principle in which God is said to do what He merely
permitted. In his 1867 book on Bible Illustrations James Lee (M. A.) helps to
clarify this matter for us:
V. 10. 'The
Lord hardened Pharaoh's heart.'—These words have not a little perplexed
many a reader of the Bible. God is often said in Scripture to do what He
only permits to be done; e.g., 'The Lord said unto Shimei, Curse
David,'—meaning, the Lord permitted Shimei to curse David. 'Is there evil in a
city, and the Lord hath not done it ?'—and the Lord hath not permitted it. Nor
is this style of speaking unpracticed by ourselves. How common is it for people
to say of an over-indulgent parent, 'He—she—ruined the children.' How? By not
restraining them; and as the result (though not inevitably) the children
ruined themselves. So, not softening Pharaoh's heart, the Lord hardened it;
Pharaoh doing really what the Lord did consequentially.
To this explanation,
however, two objections will be raised: 1st. That if Pharaoh only did what he
was permitted to do, how could he in equity be punished for it 1 This
objection takes for granted either that the Lord was under obligation to
prevent Pharaoh, or that the Lord permitting, necessitated Pharaoh
to do as he did; both which must be denied. For while men are bound to
hinder sin all they can, and their not hindering it when it is in their power
to do so, is a crime of greatest magnitude; God, on the other hand, is
bound to none, and therefore may give men or withhold from them His restraining
grace, as His wisdom sees best. We must here recognize His uncontrollable,
unimpeachable, and most righteous sovereignty. And so far from the Lord's permission
necessitating Pharaoh, that surely is against all reason. When a parent
permits his child to have his own way, no one will say that the parent necessitates
the child to take his own way.
The second objection
is, that the Lord 'raised up' Pharaoh to do as he did, ch. ix. 16; Rom. ix. 17.
But the reply to this is obvious. For God's 'raising up ' Pharaoh refers not to
his creation, but preservation. Pharaoh fell down under Divine
judgment, and the Lord 'raised him up'; i.e., permitted him to stand or continue
the adversary of His people. And is there aught in this to exonerate Pharaoh,
by shifting the cause of his rebellion from himself to God? God
did not make Pharaoh
rebellious; He only forbore to make him obedient, giving him up to his
own wicked heart, so that he became more and more hardened, until he was
destroyed.— Anon.
Lee, James Bible Illustrations: Consisting of Apothegms, Maxims and Proverbs, Volume
1 (James Lee (M.A.), 1867), pp. 168, 169
We certainly don’t expect the above
to change the heart of those people who use Bible passages that appear to teach
that God efficaciously hardens hearts as proof of their view that God controls
every single event, be it good or evil. Neither do we expect it to change the
heart of those who use such passages to question the inspiration, inerrancy and
infallibility of the Scriptures. But we do believe that it should bless those
of us who believe that God is very good, that the Bible is indeed the inspired
and inerrant Word of God, but that it requires some passages to be interpreted
in a permissive rather than in a causative sense. Be blessed.
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For more information please visit our web pages:
Christ’s Victory Bible Teaching Center: http://www.cvbibleteachingcenter.org
Vindicating God Ministries: http://www.vindicatinggod.org
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